Laurel oversees her public TV station’s community engagement activities. Projects include the PBS Kids Ready to Learn Service, teacher professional development support using PBS Learning Media, Science Cafés and Indie lens PopUp screening events. She served as the chair of the Albuquerque Business Education Compact for two years and is currently on the board of the Albuquerque Teacher Federation’s Teacher Leadership Foundation. Laurel chairs the Mission: Graduate High School Graduation network and helps to lead the Bernalillo County Early Childhood Accountability Partnership.
Laurel spent 2 decades performing new and experimental music with the Relâche Ensemble based in Philadelphia. During that time, the group recorded extensively and presented concerts across the USA, Europe, Japan and Latin America. She directed a community music school in a Philly suburb for a couple of years before becoming Director of Programs for the Montana Arts Council. She moved to New Mexico after serving as Louisiana’s Assistant Secretary for Cultural Development. There she administered the divisions of the Arts, Archaeology and Historic Preservation including the Main Street Program. She lives in Corrales New Mexico with her husband and her mother. She has been at working at New Mexico PBS for nine years.